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Computer models figure out sickle cell crisis

By Guest PostJuly 23, 2013Scienceafrican, blood blockages, brown university, computer models, figure out, george karniadakis, hispanic descent, huan lei, karniadakis lab, red blood cells, sickle cell crisis, ss2 cells, united states

A sickle cell crisis isn’t just about sickle-shaped red blood cells that block capillaries. A second, stickier kind of red blood cell starts the obstruction, making it difficult for sickle cells to flow past.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Using powerful computer models, researchers from Brown University have shown for the first time how different types of red blood cells interact to cause sickle cell crisis, a dangerous blockage of blood flow in capillaries that causes searing pain and tissue damage in people with sickle cell disease.

The models showed that the rigid, crescent-shaped red blood cells that are the hallmark of sickle cell disease don’t cause these blockages on their own. Instead, softer, deformable red blood cells known as SS2 cells start the process by sticking to capillary walls. The rigid sickle-shaped cells then stack up behind the SS2s, like traffic behind a car wreck. (more…)

Early Warning System Provides Four-Month Forecast of Malaria Epidemics in Northwest India

By Guest PostMarch 9, 2013General, Healthaccurate prediction, anopheles mosquitoes, b a cash, breeding sites, climate link, environmental condition, epidemiological records, India, indicator, infected mosquitoes, malaria epidemics, malaria risk, mercedes pascual, monsoon rainfall, northwest india, plasmodium parasite, red blood cells, sea surface temperature, semi arid region, south atlantic ocean, thar desert, transmitted via bites, tropical, university of michigan, west of africa, x rodo

ANN ARBOR — Sea surface temperatures in the tropical South Atlantic Ocean can be used to accurately forecast, by up to four months, malaria epidemics thousands of miles away in northwestern India, a University of Michigan theoretical ecologist and her colleagues have found.

Colder-than-normal July sea surface temperatures in the tropical South Atlantic are linked to both increased monsoon rainfall and malaria epidemics in the arid and semi-arid regions of northwest India, including the vast Thar desert, according to Mercedes Pascual and her colleagues, who summarize their findings in a paper published online March 3 in the journal Nature Climate Change. (more…)

Bilirubin Can Prevent Damage from Cardiovascular Disease, MU Researchers Find

By Guest PostDecember 7, 2012Healthagainst, americans, antioxidant, arterial blockage, arterial lesions, atherosclerosis, bad lifestyle, bilirubin, blood, blood vessels, bypass surgery, cardiovascular disease, clinical problem, first, flow, heart attack, inflammation, jaundice, liver, missouri, muscle cells, natural defense, red blood cells, suffer, university, william durante

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Each year, about 610,000 Americans suffer their first heart attack, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heart attacks and other symptoms of cardiovascular disease can be caused when blockage occurs in the arteries. In a new study from the University of Missouri, a scientist has discovered a natural defense against arterial blockage: bilirubin.

Bilirubin is typically something parents of newborns hear about when their children are diagnosed with jaundice. Generated during the body’s process to recycle worn-out red blood cells, bilirubin is metabolized by the liver and, usually, leaves the body harmlessly. (Many babies’ livers are not developed enough to metabolize the bilirubin, which results in the infants being diagnosed with jaundice, or high levels of bilirubin in their systems.) Now, MU scientists have found that bilirubin can be used to inhibit the clogging of arteries, and thus prevent the deadly consequences often experienced by individuals with cardiovascular disease. (more…)

Game on! UCLA Researchers Use Online Crowd-Sourcing to Diagnose Malaria

By Guest PostMay 8, 2012Science, Technologyanti-malarial drugs, aydogan ozcan, blood cell images, brazil, diagnose, diagnostic algorithms, false positive, frank yu, infectious diseases, karin nielsen, malaria, malaria causing parasites, malawi, mozambique, online crowd sourcing, red blood cells, sam mavandadi, steve feng, stoyan dimitrov, sub sahara africa, telepathology, ucla

Gaming system a new step for telepathology and other telemedicine fields

Online crowd-sourcing — in which a task is presented to the public, who respond, for free, with various solutions and suggestions — has been used to evaluate potential consumer products, develop software algorithms and solve vexing research-and-development challenges. But diagnosing infectious diseases?

Working on the assumption that large groups of public non-experts can be trained to recognize infectious diseases with the accuracy of trained pathologists, researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA have created a crowd-sourced online gaming system in which players distinguish malaria-infected red blood cells from healthy ones by viewing digital images obtained from microscopes. (more…)

Chemists Unlock Potential Target For Drug Development

By Guest PostJanuary 22, 2012Scienceadditives, analytical methods, bleeding, blood flow, blood platelets, bloodstream, clotting, cystic fibrosis, dana spence, diabetes, diseases, drug testing, druggable receptors, enzymes, human body, hypertension, michigan state university, molecule, nf449, p2x1, p2y receptor, pharmaceutical target, platelets, receptor, red blood cells, sickle cell anemia

EAST LANSING, Mich. — A receptor found on blood platelets whose importance as a potential pharmaceutical target has long been questioned may in fact be fruitful in drug testing, according to new research from Michigan State University chemists.

A team led by Dana Spence of MSU’s Department of Chemistry has revealed a way to isolate and test the receptor known as P2X1. By creating a new, simple method to study it after blood is drawn, the team has unlocked a potential new drug target for many diseases that impact red blood cells, such as diabetes, hypertension and cystic fibrosis. (more…)

Will This Be The End of Hamburger Disease?

By Guest PostNovember 28, 2010Health, Sciencebacteria, blood vessels, cow, dairy products, e coli, e coli bacterium, e coli o157:h7, ethanolamine, food contamination, food poisoning, hamburger disease, human infections, intestine, josée harel, kidney failure, meat, nitrogen, projectsafebeef, raw milk, red blood cells, veterinary medicine

E. coli bacteria. Image credit: University of Montreal

Hamburger disease, a debilitating form of food poisoning, may be a thing of the past. New findings from an international research collaboration conducted by the French National Institute for Agronomic Research (INRA), involving the Université de Montréal are the first to show how the contaminating E.coli bacterium is able to survive in the competitive environment of a cow’s intestine by scavenging specific food sources. Published in this month’s Environmental Microbiology, and featured in Nature Reviews Microbiology, this study may lead to non-medicinal methods for eradicating this invasive bug.

“We studied E.coli O157:H7, which is the most prevalent species of bacteria associated with larger outbreaks,” says Josée Harel, co-author of the study and director of the Groupe de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses du Porc at the Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. “These outbreaks have been associated with direct contact with the farm environment and with the consumption of meat, raw milk and dairy products. Reduction or eradication of O157:H7 in cows will lead to a substantial decrease in food contamination and consequential human infections.” (more…)

Mandi Schwartz Update: Tests Indicate Birth of New Immune System

By Guest PostOctober 18, 20101 commentGeneral, Healthacute myeloid leukemia, blood cells, bone marrow, cancer, carol, chemotherapy, heme, ice hockey center, immune system, kaylem prefontaine, mandi schwartz, red blood cells, saskatchewan, seattle, stem cell transplant, veno-occlusive disease, vod, white blood cells, wilcox, yale, yale hockey player

Mandi Schwartz. Image credit: Yale University

After spending six days in intensive care fighting her way through another life-threatening condition, Yale hockey player Mandi Schwartz got some much-needed positive news in her battle with cancer on Friday.

Tests have confirmed that, 23 days after her stem cell transplant, engraftment — i.e., the birth of her new immune system — has taken place. This marks a major positive step, but challenges still remain for the Yale women’s ice hockey center. (more…)

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